Executive
‘Find out who was responsible for appointing me, and fire them.’
The Spectator
Thursday
Rail 2
‘It’s the ideal rail-commuter read.’
Hiding
'Yes all right, sir, you’re Charles Stuart, Prince of Wales, hiding from Cromwell’s Roundheads — now if you don’t mind, we just want to rescue this lady’s cat.’
Iran
‘I see you’re one of those modern wishy-washy moderates.’
Husky
‘That’ll be David Cameron’s husky sledge.’
Letters: In defence of the Revd Paul Flowers, cyclists vs lorry drivers, and more
Scandal at the Co-op Sir: Martin Vander Weyer makes a good point. The Revd Paul Flowers may be a flawed individual, but he is not responsible for Co-op Bank’s woes (Any Other Business, 23 November). His appointment might be symptomatic of a complacency about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ banking that suited certain politicians, but surely now
Barometer | 28 November 2013
Third-class thinking A report by the Institute of Economic Affairs recommended standing-room-only third-class carriages as an alternative to longer trains and platforms. What was third-class rail travel originally like? — Until the 1844 Railway Act third-class travel generally meant an open carriage with holes drilled in the floor to let the rainwater out. The Act
Portrait of the week | 28 November 2013
Home Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland, outlined Scottish National Party plans for independence, which included keeping the pound and armed forces of 15,000, replacing the BBC with the Scottish Broadcasting Service and introducing random breath tests. The Ministry of Defence said it would investigate claims that in 1972 an Army plainclothes undercover unit
Our enemy is not global warming. In Britain, people are dying of the cold
Fanciful predictions of all the deaths that will result from climate change, decades into the future, are regularly thrown into public debate. Less attention has been given to a real statistic from the here and now, released by the Office of National Statistics this week, which shows the effects of one of the policies designed
Books and Arts – 28 November 2013
Boris Johnson falls foul of the ‘you can’t say that’ rule
Last night, Sebastian Payne described Boris Johnson as being a politician who ‘prides himself on being one of the few politicians who gets away with saying the unsayable’. He was covering the Mayor of London’s lecture to the Centre for Policy Studies, where Boris said the following: ‘Whatever you may think of the value of
Cure addiction the Mao Tse-tung way
Yes Trinny Woodall I’m Trinny, I’m an alcoholic and I’m an addict. When asked whether addiction is a disease, I didn’t have to think twice. Knowing that I have a disease is how I manage to have a healthy life today. All I can tell you about addiction is my experience. I grew up in
The 2013 Michael Heath Award for cartooning — shortlist (part 2)
Nine cartoonists are shortlisted for the first ever Michael Heath Award for cartooning. The theme of the contest, sponsored by John Lobb, is ‘Man in Motion’. Work by four of the artists was printed in last week’s issue; four more are below. The winner will be published next week. Thanks to all who entered —
Friday
The Spectator on the assassination of JFK and how to remember the president
6 December 1963 …That we here highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain… Lincoln, a hundred years ago at Gettysburg. And President Johnson, in his noble speech to Congress, echoed the words in tribute to John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Earlier in November we in this country had been wondering how long Remembrance
Thursday
Teabags
‘It isn’t robbing the rich — it’s just nicking stuff from work’
Skateboards
‘Fancy getting the skateboards out later on?’
Bed 2
‘Jennie, will you please stop comparing me to your first husband?’
Bar 2
‘Can you leave, please, sir. This bar specifically caters for the sad, pathetic and lonely.’
Newsreader
‘Sorry, love, but your looks have begun to fade.’
Bill
Bill Badger’s running for his life, What’s the reason for this strife? They think his cough is dread TB, And so from Nutwood he must flee.